The FOSM responsibility is to thin 12 acres each year for three years to restore 36 acres of pinon/juniper forest to meadows. The thinning prescription is to fell pinon and juniper trees with diameters less than 13 inches near the ground. The slash, such as branches, are scattered. Larger pinons and junipers, oak, and ponderosa pine are not cut. The tree trunks and branches that are large enough for fire wood are piled and collected later as part of an Eagle Scout Project to provide wood for needy East Mountain families.
The thinning on Tuesday was on the west side of the main 32-acre project site. The volunteers thinned about 3/4 acre, and the attached Word document presents photos of the slash covering three parts of the total thinned area. The large trees shown in the photos were pinions and junipers that were too large to fell and ponderosa pines. Wood is stacked high to make the piles easier for Scouts and their helpers to find.
The volunteers were Lou Romero, Eric Russell, Byron Garner, Dennis Crowther, Bill White, and Sam Beard.
Sam Beard, Projects Chair
Friends of the Sandia Mountains